The present invention relates to a method for reproducing images and, in particular, to a method for reproducing images from a photographic print wherein the photographic print includes digital information useful in producing a reproduction of the image on the photographic print.
Methods typically utilized for generating reproductions of consumer-generated still photographic prints, such as images captured on a roll of 35 mm color film, involve identification of the appropriate negative, submission of the negative to a photographic finisher where the image on the negative is projected onto light-sensitive print paper and chemically developed into hard copy print. Reproductions can also be generated from digital images captured either with a high resolution color digital camera or during the photographic processing of a color photographic film. Generating a photographic print reproduction of a digitally stored image involves locating the stored image from a compact disc or other storage media, retrieving the image and reproducing the image on a high quality color printer or other output device.
Color photographic print reproductions can also be generated by scanning the photographic print itself to generate a digitized image of the photographic print which can then be stored to the hard drive, written to a CD or floppy or rewritable disk, or sent directly to a high quality color printer or other output device. Generating a digital image of the photographic print by scanning the photographic print itself results in a loss of resolution and consequently generates a photographic print reproduction of inferior image quality.
Accordingly, prior art methods for generating reproductions of photographic prints suffer from a number of disadvantages. Generating a reproduction of a photographic print from a negative or a digital image stored on a CD requires one to have access to the negative, CD or other storage media and, furthermore, one must be able to locate the desired image which corresponds to the photographic print being reproduced. Negatives, and even in some cases CDs, may become lost or misplaced. Likewise, there are disadvantages associated with generating a reproduction of a photographic print by scanning the photographic print itself. In addition to the loss in resolution inherent in the scanning process, the photographic print itself may have degraded with time or have been damaged, thereby resulting in unacceptable reproduction.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method of generating a reproduction of a photographic print which overcomes the problems associated with the present methods for producing reproductions of photographic prints.
The present invention provides a method for reproducing images from a photographic material wherein the photographic material includes a data storage medium which can be used to store information relating to the print. Preferably, an electronically readable form, typically a bitmap or digital array, of the image is stored on the data storage medium. Although the electronic image preferably is stored in a digital format to minimize errors or loss of content involved in transforming the image, the electronic image may also be stored in a form suitable for integration into a program or as part of a file storage protocol. The photographic image file may be stored in any of the conventionally used formats such as xe2x80x9c.GIF,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9c.JPG,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9c.PCX,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9c.BMP,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9c.TIF,xe2x80x9d and the like.
The data storage medium may be a magnetic layer on the photographic print. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the magnetic layer may be a transparent magnetic layer as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,743, incorporated herein by reference, which can be applied over the image side of the photographic print without interfering with the appearance of the print. Alternatively, the data storage medium may be a conventional opaque magnetic layer located in an area where it would not interfere with the image, such as on the back of the photographic print or along a border on the front side of the print.
In one embodiment, a film is processed and the images developed on the film are converted to an electronically readable form and uploaded to a particular electronic Internet address. The Internet address, and perhaps a file location, an access code or other pertinent information, is digitally encoded on the data storage medium on the photographic print. The data storage medium on the photographic print can subsequently be read electronically and automatically direct the user to the corresponding Internet address which contains an electronic image of the photographic print. The electronic version can be transmitted, stored or retrieved. The electronic image may be directly output to a printer for generating additional hard copies of the photographic print. Alternatively, other forms of image presentation are possible, such as displaying the image on a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), or a light-emitting diode (LED) display or projecting a visible image onto a tangible surface using one of these display devices.
In another embodiment, a film is developed and the images developed on the film are converted to an electronically readable form and stored on the data storage medium on the photographic print. The electronic image can be retrieved from the data storage medium by any conventional means used for reading magnetic media, such as stripes, films or other forms of magnetic encoding. The retrieved image can be transmitted or stored as described above. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the image is output to a high resolution color printer. The digital image can be uploaded into a computer where, with the appropriate software, the digitized image can be manipulated by adding text to the image or modifying the appearance of the image. The computer enhanced image can then be transmitted, stored or output to a high resolution color printer for generating additional hard copies of the photographic print with the computer added enhancements.
The method of the present invention allows one to produce a full color reproduction of a photographic print or other image by accessing data stored directly on the print without the need for identifying and locating a corresponding negative, CD ROM, floppy disc, etc. The information necessary to produce a full color reproduction of the photographic print is provided on the data storage medium of the photographic print. The digital information stored on the photographic print is less likely to degrade or deteriorate with time. Reproductions generated by the digital information contained in the data storage medium may be of the same high image quality as the original photographic prints.
Magnetic readers useful in the present invention include manual feed devices wherein the photographic print to be read is manually passed by a magnetic read head or automatic feed devices which move either the read head or the photographic print. In either case movement of the magnetic layer in relation to the read head generates an electronic signal that corresponds to the information contained in the magnetic layer.